


My Hero

by StarSurfer69



Category: OMORI (Video Game)
Genre: Bullying, F/M, Happy Ending, Light Angst, Pre-Canon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-11
Updated: 2021-02-11
Packaged: 2021-03-17 18:14:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,881
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29354799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/StarSurfer69/pseuds/StarSurfer69
Summary: Mari never had many friends. Or any at all, really. She didn't have anyone to back her up when things turned south. That is, until she met Hero.
Relationships: Hero/Mari (OMORI)
Comments: 10
Kudos: 63





	My Hero

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, I wrote a nearly 2,000 word fic while I'm in the middle of another one. I'm taking a break from my ongoing fic. I do want to finish it, but for now it's on the back burner.  
> This fic is my headcanon for how Mari met Hero. Hope you enjoy!

Mari was never very social. She was definitely more talkative than her little brother, but that was an unfair comparison. She had a few acquaintances, people she would sit with at lunch and help with schoolwork every now and then, but she didn’t have anyone she would consider a friend. That is, until she met Hero.

Mari knew of Hero from school. They were in the same grade, but they didn’t share any classes until middle school. Mostly because Hero’s family had just moved to Faraway town during their last year of elementary school. The most they had interacted before then would be accidentally making eye contact from across the cafeteria, or walking to school together in silence when they happened to leave their houses at the same time. She knew his face, but not much else.

Just as she had been in elementary school, Mari was pegged as the teacher’s pet, which was good for her academic duties, but not so good for her social life. She would spend most of her free time alone, reading or studying. She didn’t mind. After all, school is for learning, not fooling around with friends. Her lack of friends didn’t bother her at all. 

Well, that was until people started picking on her. 

In retrospect, she should have expected it. Her self-inflicted lack of social skills meant that she would inadvertently say and do things that annoyed her classmates and made them feel inferior, as if she were mocking them. She was the perfect student, the smartest kid in class who was always right and would even correct the teacher if they made a mistake. As it turns out, people don’t like having their flaws pointed out in front of everyone. She never meant any harm, of course, but ignorance doesn’t translate to innocence. 

It started off small. A little bit of name-calling here and there. Her classmates would laugh, and Mari would laugh along, thinking it was just some good-natured banter, similar to what she’d seen in some friend groups. 

But as time went on, it got worse. Much worse. She knew they were talking about her when they looked her way and snickered to themselves. They kept up with the casual name-calling, too. It would happen more frequently, and the insults were getting more severe. Not severe enough to make the teacher question what was going on, though. She didn’t laugh with them anymore.

It was mostly one group doing it. They would do their regular name-calling in the classes they shared with her, and the rest of her classmates would either laugh or do nothing. That, she could handle. What Mari really dreaded was the time spent in the halls, alone. There, barely any teachers were around to keep them in check.

Mari remembered the things they said to her. She didn’t want to, but their venom-filled words were carved into the back of her mind. It never escalated to physical violence, but it never needed to. Sometimes, she thinks she would have preferred that over the things they said to her. 

Mari remembered running away, tears filling her eyes. She would go into the backstage area of the gymnasium through the door with a broken lock whenever she wanted to be alone. Usually she went there during her study period, but now, it was her only respite from the hell that her school life had become.

Mari remembered seeing the same unlocked door she let herself in through open slowly through the corner of her blurred eyes. She hoped beyond hope that it wasn’t one of the bullies. Without this one safe space, she didn’t know what she would do. 

Mari remembered the feeling of a hand on her shoulder. It was firm but gentle, and when she looked up to see who it belonged to, she was met with the shining smile of the boy who lived next door. It was the same smile she would grow to love, though she didn’t know that yet.

Mari remembered how he sat down with her, seemingly not caring that he was missing class. From what she knew of him, he was quiet, studious, and kind, maybe too kind for his own good. Nevertheless, his presence made Mari feel safe.

He told her his name, but quickly added that no one really called him that. To his friends, he was Hero. After a moment of consideration, she told him her name as well.

“Mari. What a pretty name. It’s nice to meet you, Mari.”

Time slowed to a stop. His words resonated in her head like a bell in a tower. Her eyes welled up, but this time, the overwhelming emotion that brought it on was happiness.

She was happy. 

Wow. It had been so long since she had felt such elation. It almost felt fake, but when Hero rested his warm hands on her shoulders, she was certain it was real.

She looked into Hero’s eyes. His brows were furrowed in concern, and rightfully so. What kind of person bursts into tears after a simple greeting?

She wiped her eyes and tried to apologize, but the tears wouldn’t stop. A knot had formed in her throat, keeping her from speaking up. Her stomach sank and her pulse accelerated as she realized the situation she was in. For once, she had met someone who didn’t ostracize her, someone who was being nicer than what was just formality, someone who seemed to actually care, and she couldn’t even stop crying long enough to talk to him. _Pathetic. What a complete screw up you are. Nothing but a loser. A failure. All those things are true and you know it. Those people are right and you kno-_

Her thoughts were cut off by Hero’s voice. “Hey! A-are you okay?” 

Mari couldn’t respond even if she tried.

“...If you can hear me, nod.”

Mari paused, then inhaled shakily and nodded.

Hero’s grip on her shoulders relaxed. “Okay, uhh… try matching your breathing with mine.” Mari nodded.

“Inhale…” _Inhale._

“Exhale.” _Exhale._

“In…” _In._

“Out.” _Out._

_Just breathe. In and out._

Almost a full minute of the same two words later, Mari’s breathing had finally steadied enough for her to talk.

“I’m sorry.”

Hero chuckled “For what?”

“For… for basically forcing you to deal with my mental breakdown. And for keeping you out of class.”

Hero only smiled wider. “There’s no need for you to apologize. I’m not good at math, anyway.”

_Oh yeah, we have math together this period,_ Mari realized. Then, Hero’s second statement registered in her head.

“Then you should definitely be in class!” she exclaimed. “What are you doing here in the first place?” 

“I was going to go to the bathroom.” He took a hall pass out of his pocket. “But then I heard someone crying, and I wanted to find whoever it was so I could try and help them, so here I am.” A goofy grin spread across his face.

_What the hell? Who does that?_ Mari thought. _He’s almost too nice. Maybe that’s why his nickname is Hero._

“What about you?”

“Hm?”

“Why are you here instead of in class? If it’s not too much to ask,” he added hastily.

Mari opened her mouth, then closed it. She shouldn’t tell him. She didn’t want to tell him. He was the first person in this school to approach her with good intentions. She refused to alienate him by dumping an entire tragic backstory on him, especially since they just met.

“...I’m just…I...” She wanted to come up with some reasonable story that hid the truth, but she was completely blanking. “...I’d rather not say.”

“Oh, okay.” Hero seemed completely fine with her answer

_Well. I guess I should have expected that,_ Mari thought, mentally kicking herself for panicking over whether someone considerate enough to skip class to comfort a stranger would respond badly to a polite denial. 

“Do you think you’re ready to go back to class now?” Hero asked.

Mari dried any excess tears with her sleeve. “Yeah, I’m ready.”

Hero smiled. He stood up and offered a hand to help her up, which Mari took gratefully. She felt as if a heavy weight had been lifted off her shoulders when she stood. Together, they walked back to class. They didn’t talk at all on the way back, but it was a comfortable silence. 

From that day forward, they would wait for each other in the morning so they could walk to school together every day. Hero would sit with Mari at lunch, walk with her to their shared classes, and meet her at her locker at the end of the day so they could walk home together. 

Mari was surprised at how drastically the things she did at school changed after she and Hero met. It gave her less freedom to do things like study on her own, but she would choose the safety that being with a friend afforded her over a little extra freedom any day. 

Having Hero around didn’t stop the bullying. However, there was a lot less whenever he was by her side, which just so happened to be almost all the time. It actually felt like the bullying was getting replaced by lighthearted teasing from her classmates asking if they were dating. Mari would laugh and respond no, we’re just friends. 

Friends. Being able to use that word made her heart soar. The day she met Hero, he walked her home after school. She waved goodbye as he walked away, and when she closed the door and turned around, her mom was there. She asked her if he was a new friend, and the question gave Mari pause. Were they friends? They only really started talking today, so did it really count?

When she went back to school the next day, she asked Hero directly.

“Hey Hero, would you... consider us friends?”

Hero swallowed a bite of his sandwich. “Yeah.”

...what?

Mari was dumbfounded. _Was it really that simple? There has to be something more to it._

Hero saw her contemplative look, and his face fell. “Do you not want to be friends?”

“Oh, no no, I mean—” Mari stumbled over her words in an attempt to reassure him. “I-I do want to be friends. I just… didn’t know friendships could form so fast.”

Hero laughed, partially at her wording, and partially in relief. “You sound like a scientist studying an alien civilization. It isn’t as complicated as you’re making it out to be. A friendship is a mutual bond between people. Since I want to be friends with you, and you spent the better half of yesterday practically clinging to me, I assumed you felt the same way.”

“I was _not_ clinging to you,” Mari huffed in mock indignation. They both laughed. 

When she got home that day, her mom was there to greet her again. Mari had truthfully answered “I don’t know” to her question the other day, but today she proudly announced that yes, he was her friend.

Her mom smiled at her, and Mari smiled back. She didn’t know why, but she felt like this was the beginning of something great. What she did know was she would treasure this friendship for the rest of her life.

**Author's Note:**

> I love them so much


End file.
